BMI’s Involvement In The International Marketplace

BMI’s role is international in scope. The songwriters, composers and publishers we represent include individuals from the more than 90 foreign performing rights organizations with which BMI has reciprocal agreements. Income generated by the use of our songwriters’ works in the international marketplace represents a significant percentage of BMI’s overall revenues.

International Flags

Creators, Songwriters and Composers

As a member of BMI, your performing rights are represented throughout most of the world by virtue of reciprocal arrangements with other international rights societies. When you register a work with BMI, the appropriate copyright information relevant to performing rights is posted on an international database. When a performance is logged overseas, the foreign rights organization is then able to identify your work.

For BMI Members

Overview

BMI's Reciprocal Agreements

Live Performances Overseas

International FAQ

Claims for Adverts/Jingles

For Creators Who Live Outside the U.S.

FAQ for Members of other Rights Societies

Foreign PROs

BMI's International team works closely with more than 90 sister societies to establish reciprocal representation agreements and improve royalty distributions for BMI-represented songwriters and composers when their creative works are played internationally. These sister societies monitor and analyze performances of the BMI repertoire on radio, television and film in more than 200 countries outside of the United States thus promoting the global value of music and ensuring creators are accurately compensated wherever their music is played.

BMI Live User Guide

International Music Users FAQ

Using Music in Your Business? Review our frequently asked questions.

Q: I am an international user of music and I would like to secure a license for a BMI work.

Q: I am a user of music in the United States and I would like to secure a license for a foreign work.

Q: I am a user of music in the United States. However, I only use foreign music. Do I need a license?

Still have questions? Contact Us

Global Initiatives

BMI is a founding member of FastTrack, a global technical alliance established by 13 copyright societies in 12 different countries, now serving more than 120 societies with a global, decentralized network that allows its members to share data on copyright documentation for musical and audio/visual works, and to streamline internal operations. For more information, visit the FastTrack website.

BMI plays a vital role in developing and expanding the global initiatives of CISAC (the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies), a non-governmental, non-profit organization comprising some 200 societies in 98 countries. Worldwide, CISAC represents 2 million creators of works in the musical, dramatic, literary, and audio/visual arts and other fields of creative endeavor. Read More